“I call my own shots, largely based on an accumulation of data, and everyone knows it. Some FAKE NEWS media, in order to marginalize, lies!” – a tweet by President Trump, apparently taking issue with reports that describe chief strategist Steve Bannon’s role as the “shadow president”
The Crib Sheet is a collection of stories, events, and ideas that are shaping the conversation in New Mexico and D.C. politics.
[New Mexico]
- Governor Martinez called a special meeting of the New Mexico Board of Finance set for Wednesday in order to ensure the state’s court system does not run out of money to conduct jury trials starting March 1st. The Governor previously vetoed $800k in emergency funding appropriated by lawmakers.
- On Saturday a House committee moved forward with a proposal to expand background checks on gun purchases. Notably, the gun control lobby was the single biggest donor of the 2016 elections.
- Also on Saturday a proposal was heard in a House committee to legalize recreational marijuana. Critics argue the measure is premature since federal law still considers it illegal.
- Steve Terrell at The Santa Fe New Mexican has a solid analysis of how the fight on the “feed bill” between the Legislature and the governor serves as a glimpse of the future operating environment in Santa Fe.
- Senator Clemente Sanchez from Grants wrote in today’s Albuquerque Journal outlining the Democrats’ jobs plan that focuses on six “job-creating policies”.
- 19 candidates are running in tomorrow’s Albuquerque Public Schools school board election.
[D.C.]
- Senator Udall is now the top ranking Democratic senator of the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee.
- Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Education, Betsy DeVos, is facing stiff opposition on her confirmation path. Senate Democrats are planning an all-night protest tonight ahead of an expected vote tomorrow.
- Yesterday Trump admitted to a longer timeframe to replace Obamacare, saying that the legislation to replace it is “complicated” and completion might “take till sometime into next year.”
[Tech & Strategy]
- Clarifai, a New York artificial intelligence company, is opening up a San Francisco office that will be headed by “an ex-Googler and alum of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.”
- Candidates for the next chair of the Democratic National Committee discussed their plans for the future of the party at a forum in Detroit on Saturday. Congressman Keith Ellison and former Labor Secretary Tom Perez are the front-runners; the election by the 447 members of the DNC will be held at the end of the month in Atlanta.
- A Wall Street banker “barely a month out of the No. 2 job at Goldman Sachs” is the leader and public face for Trump’s plan to overhaul financial regulations.
[Culture]
- The New Mexico State Aggies men’s basketball team got some love on ESPN’s SportsCenter Saturday night.
- Social media blew up yesterday with comparisons between the New England Patriots comeback victory over the Atlanta Falcons with Trump’s shocking electoral victory in November.
- Whitehouse Press Secretary Sean Spicer thought Melissa McCarthy’s SNL skit mocking him was “cute”.
